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Advanced AGRRA Point Count Survey Training: Coral Health and Reef Assessment

Join Julie Galkiewicz for an intensive training on the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) Point Count Survey. This advanced course focuses on surveying various coral reef health indicators, including primary benthic types, coral recruit assessment, and macroalgae impacts. Participants will learn to identify key species like Diadema, Queen Conch, and invasive Lionfish. Understand the significance of coral condition assessments and the role of diverse algae types. Equip yourself with essential skills to monitor and maintain reef ecosystems.

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Advanced AGRRA Point Count Survey Training: Coral Health and Reef Assessment

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  1. Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA)Point Count Survey (Advanced/Level 3) Training By Julie Galkiewicz SNI - Tarpon Springs

  2. Point Count

  3. What did we survey with the Basic level? • Primary reef benthic types • LC, BLC, NDC, TA, MA, AINV, SN, RB, SP, GOR • Coral Recruits • What size? • How many times along the 10m transect line? • Identify them?

  4. What we’re adding! • Macroalgae types and heights • Diadema, Lobster, Conch, Lionfish abundance • Identifying corals • Types of sponges

  5. Algae Types Crustose Coralline Algae (CCA) • Why do we care? • Construct/cement reef framework; may indicate good conditions for coral larvae recruitment • Requires similar conditions as corals • What does it look like? • Pink encrusting stuff • Not an encrusting sponge!

  6. Do you see any CCA?

  7. Algae Types Calcareous Macroalgae (CMA) • Why do we care? • Too crunchy and bad-tasting for herbivorous fish to eat • Some inhibit coral larval recruitment or kill/overgrow corals • Can be indicative of high nutrients • Important sediment producers • What does it look like? • Regular macroalgae, but crunchy due to calcium carbonate. Sometimes green.

  8. Algae Types Fleshy Macroalgae (FMA) • Why do we care? • Indicative of either low abundance of herbivores (fishes and urchins) or high nutrients • Inhibit coral larval recruitment or kill/overgrow corals • What does it look like? • Tall, branchy. Squishy and slimy feeling.

  9. Measuring Algae • Write down type (FMA, CMA) and height

  10. Important Animals • Diadema • Important herbivore, large mortality event in the 1980s • Queen Conch • Commercially important, overfished • Spiny Lobster • Commercially important • Lionfish • INVASIVE! Measure along a 1m belt transect

  11. Identifying Corals • Identify any corals along the point count • Indicate if they are live (LC), bleached (BLC), or newly dead (NDC) • E.g. LC-PAST, BLC-CARB, NDC-FFRA • Why do we care? • Gives us an idea of reef condition • Coral cover • Species distribution: small opportunistic/stress-tolerant vs. large reef-building species

  12. Bleaching coral looks like: Newly Dead coral looks like: Bare skeleton, bright white with little or no turf algae covering it Tissue still on skeleton, just pale or colorless

  13. Types of Sponges • Epibenthic sponge (SPO) • Healthy part of the reef • Important filter feeders and home for other organisms • Aggressive Invasive (AINV) • Bioeroder weakening the coral skeleton • Compete for space and overgrow/kill corals

  14. (SPO) Barrel sponges Finger Sponges

  15. Aggressive invertebrate (AINV) Overgrowing coral Have large holes and no polyps

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